Beliefs Are For Murderers

The rising June sun flares behind the horizon as if just waking up from a long slumber. The lingering fog dwindles over the dense foliage of the forest floor. A monkey runs along a branch overhead waving his prize as another flanks him from behind. Just then, a slight crunching sound echoes through the silence. Not a loud crunch, but still a crunch. I glance at my partner, Dan, to my right. I lick the sweat off my upper lip to utter “did you hear that?” But the words didn’t come out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the approaching green shadows trenching toward us. I hoisted myself up but it was too late. Shots rang out like thunder as blood ran down Dan’s chin. I quickly raised my revolver and fired in a furious rage. The three green shadows fell before the sound ever entered my ears. Dan looked up at me before he died and asked one question “Is it worth it?” After Dan asked me that question my entire outlook changed on life in that instance. The three men I killed to save my own life each had a wallet with pictures of mothers, daughters, girlfriends, and wives. What were we fighting for that was so important that men as proud as us had to die for?

I believe that having a powerful belief in anything only leads to greater sadness. The story above was my grandfather’s as he fought the Korean War. Having put his life on the line was a sacrifice he didn’t have to make. Is making more money or having more land really worth that of a life? People need to stop being greedy and appreciate what they have, not what they are missing. If people neglect to see this mistake in their reasoning, then they will loose the most precious gift of all time, each other. If everyone just takes a minute to think and ask themselves, how many wars are started because of pride? Children would have fathers. Wives would have husbands. And nations would be at piece.

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This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.